Opening of UC Mobile Health Clinic

Posted by Andrew Leigh MP5sc on December 09, 2011

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of opening a Mobile Health Clinic at the University of Canberra. It's a purpose-built trailer that will travel around the South Coast of New South Wales, staffed by allied health students from the University of Canberra undertaking clinical placements.

Vice-Chancellor Stephen Parker and I did the honours of speaking about the clinic (competing to see how many road puns we could incorporate into our respective speeches - just quietly, I think he might have won) and cutting the ribbon to officially open the clinic. The Australian Government contributed $1.9 million in funding for the clinic and it's great being part of a Government that's found a way to combine innovative ways of delivering health care with providing new and different training opportunities for students.

MEDIA RELEASE

Andrew Leigh MP

Member for Fraser

MOBILE CLINIC ON WAY TO BOOST SOUTH COAST HEALTH CARE

Allied health students from the University of Canberra will run a new mobile health clinic in NSW South Coast to boost the area’s healthcare services, Member for Fraser Andrew Leigh said today.

Andrew Leigh opened the mobile clinic today on behalf of Minister for Health and Ageing Nicola Roxon.

Based in a large, custom-fitted semitrailer, the health service will provide regular clinics in Moruya, Narooma and Eden. These will be run by allied health students from the University of Canberra, fully supervised by clinical educators.

“The mobile clinic was launched at the University in Canberra today and will literally bring new, low-cost professional services to the South Coast — including pharmacy, midwifery, physiotherapy, dietetics and psychology,” Andrew Leigh said.

“The mobile clinic will spend alternating fortnights in Moruya and Narooma and, for two days each fortnight, it will be in Eden. The concept has been warmly embraced by the coastal communities and by their local medical professionals.

“The new service means that the university’s allied health students will get to ‘road test’ their work in a variety of community settings, complementing traditional models of health care.

“As a result, we will have more broadly-experienced professionals. Ultimately, that will drive better care for patients across our region,” he said.

The mobile clinic was built by the university as part of a $1.9 million project funded by the Australian Government under its $90 million Innovative Clinical Teaching and Training Grants program.

The University of Canberra project was one of 35 funded across the country to increase clinical training opportunities.